


Happy(?) Holidays

by TaylorLL



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 19:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9286055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaylorLL/pseuds/TaylorLL
Summary: The Enterprise is decorated for the holiday season, but something isn't sitting well with Spock.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bustghosters](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=bustghosters).



“First Officer’s Log: Stardate 2262.358.The captain’s decision to permit decorations aboard the _Enterprise_ in celebration of the holiday of Christmas has proven to have raised the crew’s morale by 47.08%, regardless of religious backgrounds or lack thereof.In addition to the harmless decor, there will also be a celebration in three of the recreation halls to celebrate Christmas Eve tomorrow.While I have no intention of attending, I believe this should only improve the mood of our primarily human crew further.

 

“I was originally skeptical of the necessity of such festivities aboard a starship, but it is true that of the 58.14% human crew, 87.6% identify with some designation of Christianity.Therefore, while perhaps unnecessary, the captain’s decision was still logical.Regardless, I will spend the majority of tomorrow in the science labs, utilizing the facilities that would otherwise be filled by other members of my team.Despite my ability to work in a group, I still find that I am most productive when alone, especially as I am still adjusting to the changes in my work areas.

 

“The laboratories aboard this craft, as well as many other features, make it clear that this is not the ship I was originally assigned too.While some of the components of a Constitution Class starship remain constant such as the dimensions of crew quarters, the placements of wall communicators, and the layout of the bridge, others change.While the science labs are on the same deck of the NCC-1701-A as they were on the original _Enterprise_ , the chemistry lab has swapped locations with the greenhouse, the geology lab is where the anti-gravity chamber once resided, and the hydrogen collider is now next to the atmospheric isolator (such a change has clear logical reasoning behind it).

 

“However, I am not the only individual aboard that is still adjusting.I have had to redirect the captain on seven separate occasions to the correct location of different facilities.Given the difficulty a sizable portion of the crew is experiencing, I can further see why Captain Kirk approved of this holiday morale booster.I believe he is attempting to make the crew more comfortable in a metaphorically foreign place.This clearly demonstrates the care the captain holds for his crew, as he is not one who celebrates this holiday in the typical sense either.”

 

Spock paused for a moment before tapping the screen of his PADD, ending his personal log for the evening.He had already recorded an official log of his work that day, but he also felt it would be beneficial to create another to document his observations of the crew this season.For the past three years, shore leave has always fallen strategically around the winter holidays so that the crew could leave the ship for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or other, lesser known, winter celebrations.However, given the destruction of the _Enterprise_ on Altamid and its subsequent rebuilding, Starfleet Admiralty had deemed it more important to have the crew shipped out as soon as possible to complete the five-year mission of which they still had 826 days.

 

No one had taken the order very well.

 

Standing from his seat, the half-Vulcan suddenly felt restless.His body itched to move and all he could picture was the way Jim’s leg moved up and down rapidly as they played chess, the way Leonard’s fingers tapped on his desk as he read through medical reports.It was a subconscious need to move that manifested in the jolting of extremities.Spock had once commented on these habits while in the presence of the two separately and neither seemed to recall the behavior.The next time the captain starting bouncing his knee, Spock had asked him to cease.What Jim proceeded to describe seemed apt to his current state:

 

_“If I stop, I feel so trapped.”_

 

He had to move.Leaving his quarters, he was greeted with replicated garlands decorating the halls and an odd smell of pine.The garlands reminded Spock of another difference between this ship and the previous one.This ship had an improved replicator system that was able to intake recipes and specific orders with a user interface as opposed to requiring new coding.It was much more user friendly, though both Leonard and Jim continued to complain about the poor quality of the coffee.Spock, himself, found this change was more appreciated by the average crewman: one who got the recommended amount of sleep and did not need three cups of coffee to become fully conscious.

 

Now, the pine was stifling, overwhelming to his olfactory organs, and suffocating.Pushing himself down the hall, Spock soon found himself in a turbolift, one of the only places to remain safe from snowflakes and jolly fat men.He exhaled heavily and hesitated, trying to think of somewhere to go.

 

Spock could seek out Jim’s company, though the captain had previously mentioned that he was overwhelmed with menial tasks that he had been putting off.It was certainly uncharacteristic of Jim to get behind on work, but perhaps he was metaphorically ‘off his game’ after the ten month of ‘semi-leave’ they were given after Altamid.Semi-leave being defined as leave with occasional interruptions by Admiralty; Leonard had coined the term to describe the limbo of on-duty/off-duty time on Yorktown.

 

He knew that he could find an empathetic presence with Jim, who had shared his own indifference about Christmas aboard the ship.Jim had told Spock, when discussing the original proposal of decorations, that he was not one to celebrate the holiday.Given his absent mother and brother, and negligent uncle, he tended to associate intense feelings of loneliness with the holiday, and preferred the season to pass uneventfully.However, it would be rather hypocritical of Spock to look for Jim when he had already expressed a heavy workload.The half-Vulcan certainly did not want to add to the stress of the season.

 

Still silent in the turbolift, Spock noticed that it began to move of its own accord, likely to find more crewmembers in need of its services.As those aware of their destinations stepped on and greeted him, Spock nodded politely in response.

 

He could alternatively request that the computer find Doctor McCoy…It was often difficult to find Leonard when he was not in the medical bay as he visited many different parts of the ship, possibly unintentionally (Leonard, like Spock, was still adjusting to the changes of the new _Enterprise_ ).He could recall a rather eventful dinner when Leonard had entered the mess hall, just as Jim and Spock had finished eating, releasing a string of expletives surrounding the fact that he had somehow managed to travel all the way to engineering instead of the mess hall.

 

The doctor was in a similar melancholic state this season.The night they had received their departure date, Leonard had confided in both Jim and Spock over drinks that he would be unable to maintain a live feed with his daughter that Christmas as the ship would be too far from Earth.This clearly and understandably distressed the gruff man who often spoke of Joanna as his ‘pride and joy.’Given how infrequently he saw her, the realization that he would only be able to send her a pre-recorded video had not resulted in a night of moderation.Neither Jim nor Spock said anything about his appearance the next day.

 

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Spock.” Ensign Richards said as he departed the lift, leaving Spock alone and pulled out of his thoughts.

 

Why was this season so difficult for him?Spock did not celebrate Christmas, but he had nothing against the holiday either.Experiencing malice towards a trivial holiday was illogical, meaning that of Jim, Leonard, and himself, Spock should have been the last of them to feel so unhappy.He was, after all, the most logical of the three.Perhaps it had to do with one of the possessions he had lost on the old _Enterprise._ After the destruction of Vulcan, he did not have much, but one of his aunts from Earth had gifted him with a Hanukkah menorah that his mother used to light with her family before she met his father. 

 

It was old and made of a hardwood, darkened with age.There were no intricate carvings or special features, but it was a piece of her that he carried with him.He had kept it in his quarter and lit in during the celebration every year since she passed, but with the destruction of the _Enterprise_ came its own demise.It was supposed to be the first night of Hanukkah tonight.Perhaps being so close to the Christmas festivities was simply making him realize that his last physical memory of his mother was gone.

 

Spock was just about to return to quarters when his communication unit chimed.

 

“Spock here.” He responded automatically after flipping the device open.

 

“Spock!” The Vulcan was greeted by an oddly enthusiastic captain.“I need your help fixing something on the holodeck in rec room three.” He said.

 

Perhaps on any other occasion, Spock would have inquired why the captain required _his_ aid when Mr. Scott or any other engineer aboard would be a more suitable assistant, but not this time.

 

“On my way, Captain.Spock out.” He said, closing the device and finally directing the turbolift to deck six.The holodeck was a piece of technology that was being fit on many of the new Starfleet vessels.It allowed the users to experience an infinite number of simulations, useful for both recreation and battle situations.That being said, it was experimental in nature and prone to malfunctions.9.28 days ago, an ensign was trapped in a simulation of her choosing.Apparently, in desiring to visit “Disney World,” her algorithm experienced a minor glitch and she was trapped on one of the attractions for 3.96 hours.

 

When he got to deck six, Spock finally dismounted the turbolift and made his way to the recreation room.Arriving, he saw no sign of the captain, but a note on the screen to the holodeck.

 

_Come on in, Spock._

 

Cocking an eyebrow, he pressed the access button, surprised that the door opened without requiring a code.If in use, the user had the opportunity to add a code to prevent others from entering.These codes could be overridden by many other codes, but for the most part did not need to be.

 

He saw Jim and Leonard standing in the center of the room which one could describe as cozy.It was the interior of a small cottage that had the façade of being built in the twentieth century: wood-panelling on the walls, dark wood floors, a window with a view of a snowy fenced-in yard with a relaxing lack of Christmas lights.The most stunning part of the entire ensemble stood on the table in front of his two friends, his two brothers.There in the center was his mother’s Hanukkiah, or a perfect copy of it.

 

“I do not understand.’’ He said softly as he approached the two other men.

 

Leonard rubbed the back of his neck.“Well, we were both complaining to you ‘bout how horrible Christmas was gonna be for us, but you seemed just as miserable.So we did some snooping, and by we, I mean Jim.”

 

“And I remembered that you had this menorah in your old quarters and we both kinda put it together.” Jim followed up, handing Spock a box of matches. 

 

Spock took them, staring down at the wooden bits in his hand.He took one out and moved it about his fingers, amazed at how realistic the holodeck truly was.Glancing up again, he saw Jim and Leonard smiling at him in an encouraging sort of manner.There was a softness in Jim’s eyes as opposed to the typical cockiness, and Leonard’s smile only formed about half his face, as if gazing at something both amusing and admirable.Striking the match against the side of the box, Spock reached out a hand and silently lit the shamash, or helper, using it to light the first candle.

 

As the wick caught, Leonard placed a firm hand on Spock’s shoulder.

 

When the shamash was back in the center, Jim took Spock’s hands.

 

“Happy Hanukkah, Spock.” They said in turns as Spock felt overwhelmed with a happiness that was clearly not entirely his own.Jim and Leonard were happy to celebrate this with him.Perhaps this could be their celebration when the Christmas season approached.

 

Unable to reply coherently, he simply pulled the two men into a tight hug.

 

“Thank you.”


End file.
